


Five Times Tony and Peter Could Feel Each Other's Pain

by baloobird



Series: Ace Irondad and Spiderson [15]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe, Angst, Anti-Starker, Asexual Character, Asexual Peter Parker, But will follow the canon timeline, Canon-Typical Violence, Fire, First Meetings, Gen, Happy Hogan is a Good Bro, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Kinda, Not Canon Compliant, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Slow Burn, Platonic Soulmates, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, Whump, Will add future tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-07
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:00:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22605895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baloobird/pseuds/baloobird
Summary: ...and the one time they used it to their advantage.-Romantic or platonic?That is the first question two people ask themselves when they come into physical contact and their fate is decided.Are they romantic soulmates or platonic soulmates...well, that is up to the two parties in question to figure out.For the two beloved heroes, however, it doesn’t take them a millisecond to see what category they fall under.
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Peter Parker, Happy Hogan & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Ace Irondad and Spiderson [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1750639
Comments: 122
Kudos: 434





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!! Here is my take on the platonic soulmates au, I love this trope, I couldn't not contribute, I hope you enjoy!! 💖
> 
> Slight trigger warning: there is some physical violence but it's not graphic

Romantic or platonic?

That is the first question two people ask themselves when they come into physical contact and their fate is decided.

Are they romantic soulmates or platonic soulmates...well, that is up to the two parties in question to figure out.

For the two beloved heroes, however, it doesn’t take them a millisecond to see what category they fall under.

And it is the last thing Tony ever expected.

All he wanted to do was to get this kid to come to Germany with him, to increase his numbers and try to keep the Avengers from falling apart.

And after said kid tells this heartfelt story about why he helps people, why he dons the Spider-Man onesie and risks his life every day, the hero just wanted to console him. 

But right when Tony sits next to him and taps his shoulder, they both feel this burning sensation at their respective places of contact.

The older hero stares at his right hand while Peter moves the collar of his shirt and jacket to get a better look at his right shoulder.

And there, Tony sees it, the other’s name etched in his palm.

_ Peter Parker. _

Said kid gasps at the name that is now etched along his shoulder.

_ Anthony Stark. _

The teenager chokes, “Oh my God -”

“Holy shit.” Tony quickly stands up and backs away from the kid as if he’s fire. Peter goes to his mirror to get a better look at the tattoo that just appeared out of thin air.

With that burning sting now gone, they spend several seconds in silence, staring at the others’ signatures that have now fully settled into their bodies, and no matter how much they rub at the names, the letters don’t budge.

It’s settled into their skin forever.

The two heroes turn to look at each other in disbelief and insanity. 

More so insanity.

Tony mutters to himself but the kid can clearly hear him, “A fourteen-year-old is my fucking soulmate -”

_ “Iron Man _ is my soulmate.”

The two of them then say at the same time, “Holy shit.”

Tony then says, “This is so -”

“Cool.”

_ “Bizarre.” _

The older man starts pacing around Peter’s bedroom, trying his best to keep quiet and not disturb May on the other side of the door. Said teen just continues looking at him in utmost shock and asks, “Um...so what do we do now?”

The billionaire pulls the sleeve of his suit jacket until it covers the kid’s name, using his fingers to grip the clothing to keep it in place. He then turns back to Peter, “We’re not gonna do anything.”

“What -”

_ “We’re not gonna do anything, _ you understand? No one’s gonna know and you’re just gonna come to Germany and do your web thing and  _ no one is going to know. _ Got it?”

Peter crosses his arms and starts to nod his head but he stops midway, “Wait,  _ Germany? _ I can’t go to Germany, I have school, I can’t just drop out of school, Mr. Stark.”

“Really?  _ That’s _ what you’re worried about right now?” His hero rolls his eyes and heads for the bedroom door, “Alright, I’m gonna pretend you didn’t say that, and I’m sure Aunt ‘Hottie’ would love to hear about a certain spider-boy -”

Tony is cut off by the other genius webbing his now Peter-marked hand to the door. Said teen then says, demanding but still a bit shaky, “Don’t tell Aunt May.”

The mechanic’s eyes raise in surprise. 

_ Damn, this kid’s got some balls. _

He then confirms, “Alright, Spider-Man,” Tony then gestures to his hand, “For fuck’s sake, get me outta this.”

“Uh yeah-yeah, I’ll get that, um, uh yeah.” Peter searches through his desk drawers until he finds the dissolving solution and pours it over the billionaire’s hand. Once the man’s hand is free, the spiderling grabs it and inspects his name engraved in his palm. He then uses his own thumb and starts rubbing it over the signature. He then says, more to himself than to Tony, “This is weird...I can’t feel it.”

“Me either.” Tony doesn’t move his hand, letting the kid try and make at least some sense over this thing.

They need all the sense that they can get.

-

Battling alongside Iron Man against other Avengers was the coolest thing in the world, Peter thinks.

In a span of one afternoon, he stole Captain America’s shield, webbed up the Falcon and Winter Soldier, and aided in taking down giant Ant-Man - now  _ that’s _ one hell of an oxymoron.

Granted, he didn’t exactly stick the landing when Ant-Man knocked him into a pile of shipping containers but still,  _ Ant-Man knocked him into a pile of shipping containers, _ how cool was that?!

The hero is still bouncing with adrenaline when Happy picks him up from the now destroyed airport, any wounds he guesses have about healed already except for this dull ache in his left arm, but he doesn’t worry about it.

The spider-boy starts vlogging again when he gets back to his hotel room and looks through his footage from the battle. It’s not like he’s going to share this with anyone, but he has to get his excitement out somehow, it’s impossible to keep bottled up that he fought the freaking  _ Avengers. _

Peter just ate the food he ordered via room service when he notices something peculiar.

His left arm still hurts.

Okay, that’s weird, the boy thinks. He lifts up his arm and starts inspecting it, all around his wrist, bicep, even moves his shirtsleeve to see if there’s anything on his shoulder.

But nothing...his arm looks fine.

_ Maybe the healing isn’t moving as fast as it normally does? Or one bit of the healing is working slower than the other?  _

Peter shrugs it off, thinking his enhanced healing will cure whatever it is and he starts scrolling through movie channels. He finally decides on a movie to rent when he feels a sudden pain on the right side of his head as if someone just threw a rock at him.

_ What the hell? _

He starts to tenderly rub his head but then he feels that same pain in his chest, so fast and unexpected that he’s knocked against the headboard.

“Holy shit.” 

The boy hurriedly gets up and heads to the attached bathroom. He turns on the light just as he feels that sharp pain materialize in his right hand and he holds it up in front of the mirror.

He doesn’t see anything.

Then all at once, Peter feels every single ache, hurt, and throb continue to cascade through his body, as if an invisible bully is beating him up but none of it is showing on his skin, there’s not even any redness to prove that pain is there.

Something is definitely up, the kid thinks. His healing factor doesn’t work  _ that _ fast, what the fuck is happening?!

The spiderling tries to ignore the pain as he takes off his shirt, needing to see for sure if there’s anything possibly showing that he couldn’t see before. However, like the rest of his body, it looks perfectly fine, not a scratch on him, and any wounds he obtained during the battle earlier have already healed, as the kid suspected earlier.

So how the fuck is he in so much pain when there’s nothing to show for it?

He feels another blow to the head that makes him stagger back a few steps and finally notices something.

Iron Man’s signature.

Something about it looked different, the child sees. He feels a blow to the other side of his head and he sees it more clearly.

The name lit up when the pain appeared...but it went away as fast as it came.

_ Now  _ that _ is weird. _

Peter bites his lip to stifle the hurt he’s endured over the last several minutes. It’s like every blow has gotten worse and worse and he just wants it all to  _ end. _

And why is his fucking soulmate’s name blinking?

Soulmate, that is so weird to think about, but another punch in the stomach has him momentarily forgetting about it and he hunches over the toilet just in time to upchuck his dinner.

Strike after strike, punch after punch has him falling to the bathroom floor and curling into a ball, tears flowing freely down his face and teeth biting his tongue so tightly that he wonders if he’ll bite it in half.

Finally, there is a lull where it feels like nothing’s happening, that whatever this is is  _ over. _ The genius takes this opportunity to use the sink to pull himself up but as soon as he does, he feels yet another punch to his stomach.

And Tony’s name lights up on his shoulder again, lasting only a second.

_ Wait a minute - _

Peter’s thoughts are cut off by another blow to his head and once more...his hero’s name briefly lights up.

_ Oh my God. _

_ There’s no way. _

The boy’s theory is confirmed when he feels a hit to the back of his legs, the impact making him lean forward over the sink, head almost touching the mirror.

Tony’s name lights up for the  _ fourth _ time.

And it only appeared when the pain did, just like with the previous ones.

_ Holy shit. _

There is nothing wrong with Peter.

_ Something is wrong with Mr. Stark. _

In a flash, Peter wobbles to the adjoining door and bangs on it as loud as he can while shouting, “Happy! Happy, open up,  _ please!” _

The bodyguard opens it a second later, annoyance evident on his face, “What the fuck, kid, you’re about to knock the door off the damn hinges -”

“Something’s wrong with Mr. Stark.” The boy stumbles into the room and plops onto the man’s bed, gripping his stomach from yet another kick or punch or blast or  _ whatever, _ but it fucking hurts, all the same.

“The hell is wrong with you, get off my bed -”

“Mr. Stark is getting hurt, call him!” More tears pour down the teen’s cheeks and he can’t bite his tongue anymore, “It hurts so bad, oh my God, call him.” He then breaks down in sobs.

Happy, now etched in concern, goes over to the kid, “Peter, what the hell is going on?”

“Please...please, it fucking hurts, I don’t know what to do.”

The older man kneels in front of him and asks, “Where are you hurt?”

“Everywhere, but it’s not me, it’s Mr. Stark, we’re like,” Peter winces at the sudden pain in his left hand, “We’re like connected or something.”

“Wha -”

“We’re soulmates! We’re soulmates and I’m like ninety-nine point nine percent sure we’re connected ‘cuz his name lights up whenever I get hit.” The boy whimpers at several blows to his head, “And it hurts!” He curls into a ball once again and wraps his arms around his head.

“Okay, okay, um...holy shit.” The chauffeur scrambles for his phone and calls his boss.

With no answer.

Happy tries again...and again and again but still nothing. He puts down his phone when he hears the other loudly sob and he says, “Alright, I’m gonna call 911...or 999...what the fuck is that number in Germany?”

“I can’t go to the hospital!” Peter bites into the comforter underneath him, trying to keep from screaming in pain. Everything hurts...there’s no way to describe it except it just hurts so fucking badly.

As awful as it is for the teenager, however, he can’t imagine how Tony must be feeling.

_ What the fuck is wrong with Mr. Stark?! _

Happy says, “We don’t have any other options, kid, it’s either this or flying back to the States, we don’t have time for that.” He picks up the hotel landline phone and finds the number for the ambulance on the list of emergency contacts but before he can call it, the kid screams.

_ Screams. _

Peter clutches his chest, accidentally rolling off the bed. He tries to take deep breaths but he  _ can’t, _ his screams are too loud and everything hurts, everything hurts,  _ everything fucking hurts. _

Is this what a heart attack feels like? There’s no way because his heart feels like it’s actually about to burst right out of his chest.

Is he dying? Is  _ Iron Man _ dying?

He feels Happy trying to console him but all it does is make everything worse, Peter doesn’t need comforting, he needs this to fucking  _ stop. _

The teen faintly hears Happy calling what he assumes is the police but he can’t focus on what the man is saying, the heart-bursting sensation overtaking all of his focus.

Again, Happy tries to shush and calm the boy down, one hand still gripping onto the phone, but it doesn’t do anything. 

Amidst the pain, Peter feels his eyes start to get droopy. He hears the bodyguard chanting, “Stay with me, kid, c’mon stay with me”.

But it’s no use.

With his hands still clutched to his chest, Peter’s world goes black.

-

Peter wakes up to find himself on a cot of some sort and under a blanket, still without a shirt on. The room is significantly small and dim, seeming like he’s in some sort of closet except he feels movement. He takes a guess and assumes he’s in a car or something with wheels.

Is he getting kidnapped? At the moment, he really doesn’t care, the only thing his mind is focused on is just going back to sleep.

_ Maybe the kidnapper will let me sleep in his lair. _

The spiderling sees Happy walking over to him - debunking his kidnapping theory - and the man says with panic, “Hey, we’re in the jet, we’re gonna pick up Tony, okay? He’s not in good shape but  _ you’re  _ fine, they checked you over and you’re fine...kid, you might’ve just saved Iron Man’s life.”

“Wha -” the teenager isn’t all the way there, mindset-wise, judging by his thinking of him getting kidnapped and  _ not caring. _ It then hits him and he smiles, looking as if he’s drunk, and mumbles, “Cool” before falling back asleep once more.

He wakes up again to find himself clad in a drafty white gown and the room is much bigger and brighter, giving him the assumption that he’s in a hospital room this time. Peter blinks several times to adjust to the natural light and takes in the view around him.

It’s an ordinary hospital room with all the necessary medical supplies. His left hand - attached to his  _ still aching _ arm - has an IV connected to him and the bag of fluid is over half-full. He shifts and winces at the residual sting that’s apparently still present in his chest.

_ I thought Happy said I was fine, wha - _

The kid’s thoughts are cut off by an unexpected voice next to him, “‘Bout time you woke up, jeez.”

“Huh?” Peter looks to his right and sees none other than Iron Man laying in a hospital bed next to him, also clad in a gown and connected with several more wires, along with donning a cast on his left arm, “Oh my God -”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, really not in the mood for the ‘starstruckness’, ‘kay?”

“Where are we?”

“Avengers Tower, medbay. I wasn’t about to let you go to a regular hospital.”

“Uh, thanks...what happened?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“But...I don’t really know either.”

“Look, the last thing I remember is ‘Captain Popsicle’ shoving his dinner plate in my chest and FRIDAY sending a signal to Happy and Rhodey.”

“So  _ that’s _ how I ended up in the jet.”

“Apparently.” The older hero’s voice softens slightly, “So thanks for saving my life, I guess. How’d you know, anyway? Is that another spider power or something?”

“Um...well,  _ you _ kinda told me you were in trouble.”

“How? You’re not in my system, FRIDAY wouldn’t’ve sent you a signal -”

“No, not that, um…” the boy points at his name on Tony’s hand, “We’re connected.”

Tony glances at that hand before looking at the teen with bewildered eyes, “Da fuck -”

“I know, it’s weird.” Peter winces again as he sits up and faces his hero directly, “But like, every time you got hit, I felt it, it’s like I got hit too. And when that thing happened in your chest, it-it hurt so bad I passed out...my chest still hurts right now.”

“This is ridiculous, there’s no way - “ the man cuts himself off with a wince as he feels a light sting randomly appear on his right arm, “What the -”

Peter cuts him off this time by another slap of his arm and again, Tony feels that same sting. The mechanic then says hurriedly, “Do that again.”

The teenager obliges and slaps his arm for the third time. The older man’s eyes bug out as everything clicks, “Holy shit -”

“I know, isn’t it weird?”

“And it’s because of this?” Tony gestures to Peter’s name on his hand.

“Yeah, every time you got hit, your name would light up for a second, that’s how I figured it out.”

The billionaire keeps staring at his hand when he says, “Do it again.”

Peter slaps his arm once more and this time Tony doesn’t acknowledge the light pain and instead focuses on the tattooed name.

_ Peter Parker _ lights up, just like the kid said, but it goes away after only a second.

Tony then blurts out in astonishment, “Well I’ll be damned.”

“Yeah.”

“You felt  _ everything?” _

“Yeah, um...yeah, it uh, it wasn’t fun. It’s weird, like, we were in a battle together and I didn’t notice it.”

“We were both getting knocked around, how would we have known?”

“Yeah, true.” The boy’s eyes widen at a realization, “Hold up, my left arm still hurts too.”

“Too? What else hurts, what happened?”

“My chest, like I said, does  _ your _ chest still hurt?” Peter then stares at his hero’s arm.

His hero’s arm that’s currently in a cast.

The teen then asks, “Oh shit...and your arm still hurts too?”

The billionaire answers confusedly, “Um, yeah some, but I’m on painkillers, it could be worse.” Then he gets it, “And your arm and chest hurt too?”

The other genius nods his head, “Not much like you said, it’s more of a dull ache, but-but it’s fine, no biggie.”

A look of guilt passes through the older man that doesn’t go unnoticed by Peter. The mechanic then says, “Sorry...I don’t know how long it’s gonna last.”

“It’s not your fault, you couldn’t help it.”

“How long has your arm been hurting?”

“Since Happy picked me up from that airport, um, after the battle.”

“Shit.”

“But it’s fine I mean, I can still move it and pick up stuff, I don’t need a cast -”

“But it’s my fault that it hurts in the first place.”

_ “No it’s not, _ whoever hurt your arm, it’s  _ their _ fault, just like how it’s Captain America’s fault for your chest. Do you know who did it?”

“Wanda, she ‘whooshed’ a bunch of cars at me.”

“Oh...well, she sucks.”

“You’re telling me.”

Peter then looks over at the other hero, biting his lip. He then starts to say something but trails off, “Um….”

Tony lifts an eyebrow, “Cat got your tongue or something?”

“Um…” the teenager starts to get out of his bed but the IV drip is holding back, “Can I, um...can I try something?”

“Like what?”

“Um,” Peter, while trying not to grimace at the pain, gets out of bed on the side with the drip and walks with it to his hero, “Uh...this.” Before Tony can argue, the kid reaches across and grabs the man’s right hand - where his name is written - and rests it on his shoulder, under the hospital gown, and against the other name.

“Kid, what the fu -” Tony then feels a warmth filter through him, one that he can’t quite explain. It’s not any kind of heat from the weather, the stickiness of the humidity or even flame from a stove.

But it’s a warmth in the best way one can describe: it’s that wonderful feeling of wearing clothes right after they come out of the dryer, the steam from a fresh cup of coffee, or biting into a soft, just-baked chocolate chip cookie. 

It’s all of the above and altogether...and neither hero wants this amazing feeling to ever end.

Tony looks at the kid in complete disbelief, “What the fuck is this?”

“It’s a thing that soulmates do. You touch your names together and you get this warm, fuzzy feeling that no one can really explain. May and Ben did this a lot before, um...yeah, anyway.” Peter puts down the other man’s hand and that warmth immediately disappears, leaving behind a chill that makes both heroes slightly shiver.

Tony shifts until he gets a better look at the kid while said kid scoots his bed closer and sits on it, feet dangling over the side. As Peter drapes a blanket over his freezing legs, the older genius asks, “So, your aunt and uncle were soulmates?”

“Yeah, they met in college, they literally bumped into each other while crossing the street. I would see them doing that same thing with their arms while we were watching a movie or something...I always wondered what that felt like.”

“So she told you about that but not about the pain thing?”

“Yeah, she said ‘some things just need to stay surprises’, well that surprise gave me a heart attack,  _ thanks May. _ Wait, you said 'were soulmates', how’d you know about Ben?”

“I know everything about you, kid, didya really think I was gonna take you to Germany and build you a fucking suit without knowing if you were an animal killer or drug dealer or something?”

Peter snorts, “I don’t even know where to  _ get _ drugs, let alone afford them -”

“Good, keep it that way.” Tony’s voice eases slightly, “I’m sorry for your loss...that must’ve been tough.”

The teenager nods his head, “Thanks...it was but, um, we’re handling it, we’re gonna be fine. It’s what Ben would’ve wanted.”

“Yeah, I understand.” The man then stares back down at his marked hand, “So...we’re soulmates, I guess.”

“Yup...sorry.”

“For what?”

“For not...being who you wanted.”

“Okay, rule number one: don’t apologize for shit that’s outta your control. Kid, I was never expecting to even  _ get _ a soulmate, I mean, I’m in love with Pepper, I honestly didn’t want to find a soulmate ‘cuz I don’t want that to ruin what I already have with her.”

“Does she have a soulmate?”

“Nope, and she told me she doesn’t want to find one, for the same reason I just said.”

“Well, if she loves you too, then her soulmate must also be platonic.”

“Guess so, but she also doesn’t wanna risk it.”

“I mean, it’s possible she’ll never find her soulmate, lots of people don’t, there’s nothing wrong with that...I didn’t think  _ I _ would.”

“You’re only fourteen -”

“I know but there’s already a lot of kids who know their soulmates. Granted most of them are platonic like best friends, and some are even soulmates with their own family members.”

“Thank God I wasn’t.”

“Were your parents soulmates?”

“Nope, and neither of them ever found theirs.”

“And...okay, but how'd ya not know about the pain thing, you’re like old.”

Tony grunts, “Well,  _ pardon me _ for not knowing the ins and outs of the ‘soulmate encyclopedia’, I never cared about that shit. Were  _ your _ parents soulmates?”

“I don’t know, I was too young to remember and May doesn’t remember either, but she doesn’t think they were. Mr. Stark?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you...disappointed?”

“About what?”

Peter rolls his eyes, “You know...me being your soulmate?”

“For God’s sakes, put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel if you found out your soulmate is young enough to be your  _ actual _ kid?”

“Kinda weird, I guess.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think this is a bad thing, underoos.”

“Really?”

“Really. I mean, it’s not like anything is gonna change, I’m still giving you the suit.”

“No way, really?!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, Merry Christmas.”

Peter clutches his blanket in excitement, “Thank you, oh my God, that suit was amazing!”

“‘Course it is, I built it.”

“And um...so what’s gonna happen with this?” The kid gestures to his mentor’s name on his shoulder.

“Nothing, like I said before.”

Peter’s face falls instantly, “But why?”

“Kid, I’m like famous and shit, people can’t know that a random teenager is my soulmate, do you have any idea how bad that’ll make me look?”

“Oh...hadn’t thought about it like that.”

“And you’re not gonna tell anyone either.”

“Wasn’t planning to.”

"You weren't gonna brag about this to your little friends at school? Kid, you’re soulmates with  _ me.” _

“That’s why I’m not gonna tell anyone. Everyone’s gonna wanna be my friend if I tell them my soulmate is  _ Iron Man. _ School will be even more miserable than it already is.”

“Whatcha got to be so miserable about?”

“Um, it’s  _ high school.” _

“Right, right, sorry it’s been a while.”

“So I understand not telling anyone else, but...what about  _ us?” _

“What  _ about _ us?”

“Like...we’re  _ soulmates, _ I mean you gotta admit, it’s kinda cool. Like, I don’t know if you wanna hang out or something, I know this good sub place near my apartment -”

“Seriously?”

“What?”

“You really think that because this happened, we’re gonna be, what,  _ bros? _ Kid, when I said nothing changes, I meant it,  _ nothing changes.” _

Peter swears he can feel his heart physically shatter, “Oh….”

“Don’t mean to burst your bubble, but that’s just how it’s gonna be.”

“Um...uh yeah, yeah, um...so what happens now?”

“Rest up here, and...we’ll call you.”

The child’s eyes raise to his hairline, “Really? You have my number -”

“No, no, I mean we’ll call  _ you _ like someone will call you, ‘my people will call your people’ kinda thing.”

_ Um, I don’t have any people,  _ I’m _ my people. _

“Oh um, okay...okay, yeah um, thanks again for the suit, Mr. Stark.”

“No problem, kid.” Tony tilts his head towards the ceiling, “FRIDAY, can you bring a nurse in to see Mr. Parker out, and send in another one for me, I wanna get outta this damn thing already.”

“As you wish, boss.”

Seconds later, two nurses walk in to tend to their patients. Peter is unhooked first and given his bag of clothes that he took to Germany. He is then instructed to change clothes in the attached bathroom.

A few minutes later, the kid comes out with his bag and finds Tony gone, the hospital bed along with him. The nurse then tells him, “He told me to tell you bye and the rest of your clothes will be delivered to you sometime today.”

_ Oh, the suit...that’ll be cool, at least. _

_ But I wanted to say goodbye in person. _

Peter tries not to show the heartbreak on his face, “Oh, um...thanks.” He then follows the nurse’s directions and is out of the tower in mere minutes. The first thing he sees is Happy standing next to a fancy car and sporting an expression that is the complete opposite of his name. The man then says begrudgingly, “C’mon, kid, ain’t got all day.”

The teenager sighs defeatedly and gets in, staying almost silent the whole way home.

He may be bummed that his conversation with his hero didn’t end on a very positive note, but a lot of good things came out of this trip: he got a brand new amazing suit, fought with and against the Avengers, got an affirmation that they’ll  _ definitely _ call him at some point.

And most importantly: 

He found out his soulmate is  _ Tony freaking Stark. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! I know it's been a hot minute, but I hope you enjoy!! 💜💜
> 
> I hope you don't mind that I made Peter ace, I had this ace ficlet idea for awhile and the setup with the update was too perfect not to include it 😂
> 
> **Trigger warning**: vague beginnings of a panic attack, vague mentions of fire, and some talk about porn towards the end

Tony’s life has been hectic since a fourteen-year-old’s name was etched into his right hand.

He never realized how often that hand is exposed, so he has now taken to wearing a glove everywhere he goes as if he’s a wannabe Michael Jackson.

He’s not ashamed that this kid is his soulmate  _ per se, _ but he can only imagine the media circus that would circulate if this gets out. 

So better for people to theorize about why Iron Man is now wearing a glove than investigate the name that’s written underneath. 

But then there’s the shared pain to consider as well. Whenever FRIDAY sends him the notification that the kid is out patrolling, Tony braces himself, goes into a similar mindset as he would right before a mission, mentally preparing for the incoming aches, pains, and exhaustion.

Sometimes, it’s not too bad, a few hits here and there, or the teenager simply trips over his own two feet, which the man can’t help but laugh at whenever he watches over the footage.

But other times it’s a bit rough, like when Spider-Man tried to stop that bank robbery, when those nuclear weapons were first discovered.

Yeah, that wasn’t a fun night in the lab.

So Tony has taken to the wonderful yet terrifying world of the internet to figure out how this shared pain can be controlled. There has  _ got _ to be a way, he thinks, with all the people out there whose soulmates are athletes, active-duty soldiers, construction workers, or any other profession where a risk of pain is present. 

How do their soulmates live like this?

The billionaire has searched through Google, Yahoo Answers, Reddit, Quora, even fucking WebMD, and everyone says about the same thing.

Simple painkillers.

Unfortunately, nothing exists that can completely minimize the pain but over-the-counter medication such as Aleve or Advil can lessen it, make it manageable, and is best taken right before the significant others’ shift starts so it can last the entire twelve hours. For people whose soulmates are in the military, it’s simply a guessing game.

_ Well, shit. _

Tony tests it one day. The second his AI notifies him that Spider-Man is out, he takes a couple of Advil.

It works…at least he  _ thinks _ it works. 

_ May’s husband was a cop, right? I should ask her sometime what she did. _

The normal blows to the head and stomach are just stings to him, to his relief. He knows the pain is there but it could be worse, so he takes that as a win.

But now there’s the kid to think about.

Peter is enhanced, obviously, with the super strength and weird stickiness that Tony has yet to figure out. With those powers, it makes sense that his body has changed to accommodate them such as a faster metabolism.

And with that metabolism, there is a very good chance that Peter won’t get the same reaction, or  _ any _ reaction, for that matter.

Not that the billionaire is frequenting Avengers’ missions or anything. Since the split, Iron Man has been pretty inactive. The most pain the spider-boy would feel from him is a dropped part on his arm, or the occasional pinches in his fingers while he’s putting together a suit.

However, Tony would rather be safe than sorry. He already feels guilty that he has something to lessen the pain while the kid doesn’t, and what if something happens again like in Siberia?

He shudders at that, like he always does when his mind drifts to that fateful battle.

The fateful battle that a fucking fourteen-year-old felt right along with him.

_ Soulmates are nothing but a damn clusterfuck. _

Even though the medication helped, it doesn’t cure it by any means. When Tony was in India, he felt these odd scrapes, light bangs to his head, and _why the fuck_ _is my ass burning,_ that can only be explained by a certain vigilante who’s out patrolling. After having FRIDAY catch him up with the recent footage, the man sent a suit to go after him.

Little did Tony know that that was only the beginning.

The typical aches anerd pains started worsening as if the kid is getting bolder with what he wants to pursue. Honestly, he can’t blame him, stopping kidnappings and nuclear arms dealers are more interesting than fishing a cat out of a tree.

But that didn’t stop him from taking away the boy’s suit.

The ferry incident was both a blur and a too vivid dream, and it started the second Tony got off the phone with the kid.

Since he didn’t take any Advil - because he’ll learn  _ very _ soon that the kid took the fucking tracker out of his suit - the pain from  _ whatever _ hit the man all at once, making him pause while packing in preparation to move to the new compound.

Iron Man stops it in a second. He repairs the ferry, saves the people on board, even calls the FBI about the nuclear weapons.

And takes away the kid’s suit.

The man doesn’t regret it, he really doesn’t. Peter fucked up, the kid himself even knows that. If he’s going to be that careless, Iron Man isn’t going to be the reason why.

Pushing that memory to the back of his mind, Tony holds up the Spider-Man suit. He looks at it, really feels the fabric between his fingers before folding and placing it in one of his moving boxes, taping the flaps to keep it secure.

The mechanic takes a good look around the lab, at the several dozen boxes that still need to be moved to the new facility but they couldn’t fit in the plane. He smiles as he sees his robot inch toward him, with the smaller one lagging behind and grunting at him like he always does.

“Don’t worry, DUM-E,” Tony says, holding out his hand and petting his claw as if he’s comforting a dog, “You guys are coming with me, I know how you are with small spaces.”

DUM-E squeaks as he lowers his claw, almost as if he’s relaxing at his owner’s soothing words.

With one last rub, the genius grabs the box that contains the kid’s suit and a few of his personal items, instructing his robots to follow him to the elevator. After folding down the backseat, he gets them in his car, wedging the box between them to keep still, and gets in the driver’s seat, taking them to Avengers Tower 2.0.

The hero receives a notification from Happy that the plane containing the first load of cargo is taking off and will be at its destination in record time, making him look up at the night sky to see if the invisibility is in effect. With no giant plane in sight, he assumes the best.

Of course, Tony could have simply gotten two planes to get his equipment shipped all at once but the less he has to worry about, the better. With only one plane, there’s a slimmer chance of anything breaking or getting intercepted.

It then comes without warning. 

One second, he’s calm and content, bobbing his head to the car radio while stopped at a stoplight.

The next, he is clocked with a sharp blow to the head.

“What the fuck -” he cuts himself off as another wave of pain hits him, this time in his back, making him slump completely on his steering wheel. 

Tony instantly starts taking deep breaths, his anxiety skyrocketing as he tries to go into battle mode, looking behind him to see…nothing.

Just his equally anxious robots staring at him without a clue in the world for how to help him.

_ That makes three of us. _

His left hand starts to shake as the light turns green, doing all he can to keep his composure but the hits keep coming, each one worse than the last.

Tony pulls down the visor above him, the light from the mirror turning on when he lifts the flap and he takes split-second looks at himself while also keeping his eyes on the road.

He looks fine.

Nothing is wrong with him.

_ So what the fuck is this? _

The man lifts the visor back up, cursing to hell and back as he slowly but surely treks through the New York City traffic.

At one point, the car runs over a pothole of some sort that makes everything jostle. He looks in his rearview mirror to see his robots not having moved, the box in the middle doing its job.

Wait.

The box.

_ Shit. _

Tony opens his right palm, glancing back and forth between the kid’s name and the road, “FRIDAY, call Peter -” he cuts himself off with a wince as something hits his gut and he’s not sure if he wants to know what.

And there confirms his suspicions: Peter’s name lights up, just for a split second. “What the fuck are you doing?” he mumbles.

The call rings several times before going straight to voicemail, forcing the billionaire to roll down his windows to keep his rapidly growing fear in check.

“FRI, try him again, keep trying until he picks up.”

Tony then starts honking the horn, yelling like a madman so everyone gets out of the way.

His suits are in the new facility. It’s only five more minutes until he gets to his destination and he can get a suit and everything will be fine.

The kid is okay.

He’s not in actual trouble.

He’s just…had a run-in with some bullies.

Which still isn’t good but it could be a hell of a lot worse.

His AI is still calling the kid with no answers as Tony pulls into the parking garage.

There may be no answer, but there is no more pain either.

He still has the residual aches but nothing’s punching him in the head or pushing him into an invisible wall.

Peter is fine.

Right?

He got in a fight with some kids from school or he’s probably breaking the rules and gone out patrolling in his old suit.

The mechanic then leans back against the headrest before releasing a tired groan.

_ He’s in his old suit to go after that guy with wings, isn’t he? _

_ This fucking kid. _

With a sigh, Tony opens his glove compartment and grabs the container of Advil, popping two in his mouth and swallowing them dry before he hurriedly gets his robots out and up to the new lab.

The literal second the man walks into the new lab, before the doors have closed even, he commands his AI, “FRIDAY, track Peter’s phone.”

_ Thank God I already had her installed. _

Tony all but tosses his box as he races to get a suit. Sure, the pain is gone now but it didn’t stem from nothing.

He is one hundred percent sure that that kid is out there in fucking pajamas trying to fight crime.

The AI then gives coordinates as to where the young hero is located.

The genius stops in his tracks, squinting long and hard what he’s exactly looking at but it makes no damn sense.

Why is the kid in Manhattan?

Is that Vulture guy in Manhattan?

_ I’m just gonna have to see for myself - _

Tony is cut off with a grunt, something sharp piercing into his back thus making him fall onto the floor, stretching out his arms at the last second to protect his face.

He turns slightly and takes a glimpse behind him, at who managed to break in and stab freaking Iron Man in his own building.

But no one is there.

_ Kid, what the fuck did you do? _

He scrunches his face, putting his hands flat onto the surface and pushing himself up. He’s in a similar position to that of a push-up when he stops.

Because that’s as far as he can go.

The man continues trying to push himself up but to no avail, wincing and biting his lip as whatever the fuck this is that keeps digging into his back.

_ This Advil sure isn’t doing shit. _

“FRIDAY, what’s happening?!” Tony asks, not even bothering to hide the tremor in his voice and who can blame him since  _ he can’t get up, _ “What the fuck is this?”

After a few seconds, the AI announces in her usual neutral manner, “Cause of injury not detected.”

“For fuck’s sake!” The billionaire slumps back onto the ground in defeat, resting his cheek on the floor while taking yet more deep breaths.

_ I should probably invest in an inhaler after all of this is over. _

Since he’s not going anywhere anytime soon, the man does his best not to panic; panic means he can’t think, and if he can’t think, then how the hell is he going to get him and the kid out of this mess?

_ The kid. _

Tony lifts his right hand and takes another look at the name.

_ Peter Parker _ is illuminated, which is no surprise.

But this time the brightness isn’t going away.

The hero clenches his hand into a fist God knows how many times, rubbing his thumb over the name but nothing moves, as if the signature has become a permanent glow-in-the-dark gel pen.

“Well,” Tony says, willing his fingers not to shake, “This is new.”

Peter is trapped under something, that much the man can tell, and whatever it is, it must be  _ killing _ his back. Tony’s own feels like it’s about to go numb from the invisible weight he’s under.

The only thing he holds onto is the fact that the kid is enhanced.

So that must mean this isn’t as bad for him.

Right?

Tony then starts crawling over to where he sees his suit standing behind some protective glass, repressing the pain to the back of his mind.

_ Focus on the kid. _

_ Only on the kid. _

He sees his robots inching up to him, DUM-E reaching his claw towards his owner and squeaking in a way that suggests he wants Tony to grab hold of it.

“What?” he starts, “You can’t drag me across the lab.”

But the robot is stubborn, poking the man’s shoulder with his claw until finally, his owner reluctantly grabs onto it.

And to his wild surprise, it works.

_ This must look so fucking weird out of context. _

DUM-E pulls the hero to his suit at surprising speed. Granted, it’s not fast but it saves Iron Man the already dwindling energy of doing this himself.

The bot drops his hand when he reaches their destination and Tony just lets it fall. No point in moving it if he still can’t stand up, he thinks.

“Good boy,” he says, cracking a slight smile at his charge, “You did good.”

DUM-E again pokes his owner’s shoulder in what the billionaire assumes is a “thank you” and inches away to do…whatever.

Well, Tony is now technically at his suit.

_ Now what? _

Again, he stubbornly tries to push himself up, using the glass from the case to aid but to no avail. If he can just get to the damn keypad, then he could get the suit around him and this problem might be solved.

“Might” being the operative word.

Tony slumps to the floor as yet another attempt fails him. 

_ I hate soulmates. _

_ I was doing just fine before this shit happened. _

The mechanic shifts to try and get in a more comfortable position on the hard surface, an annoyed groan escaping him. He tries to roll on his back but he feels something dense press into him from the side of his right thigh.

His phone.

His saving grace was in the pocket of his jeans the whole fucking time.

_ Shit, why didn’t I think of that ten minutes ago? _

The words “Call Rhodey” are on the tip of his tongue but then he feels a weight literally being lifted off of his back.

If only he knew what the hell this weight even is.

Slowly, ever so slowly, his back feels more and more alleviated. It would feel more amazing but now the genius’s hands and arms are aching something fierce.

_ Peter is pushing whatever this is off of him. _

Again, the man looks down at the name. It’s still in a brightened state but now it’s merely blinking as if someone is repeatedly flicking a lightswitch.

_ Hang on, kid, I’m coming. _

He pushes himself once again, gradually inching up and up as this weight is lifted off of him completely.

And at long last, Tony can stand up.

The mechanic wastes no time, not even to try and wrap this whole  _ thing _ around his head as he punches in his code and gets in his suit.

“FRIDAY, track Peter’s phone,” he demands, shooting up as the ceiling opens for him and already blasting in the opposite direction he drove from. 

His AI gives him the coordinates and it’s still in Manhattan.

“Where do the coordinates lead to?”

“Your old building, sir,” the AI responds.

_ Wait, what? _

“Is that Vulture guy trying to get at my shit before I move it or something?” the hero asks, thinking out loud.

“I don’t know, sir.”

“That was a rhetorical question, FRI,” Tony says with a tired sigh. He then releases a string of curses as he feels something hit him in the gut.

_ Where the fuck is the kid? _

“FRIDAY,” the man starts, wincing at the residual ache that followed, “Give me some more juice.”

“As you wish, boss.” She fulfills his command and increases his speed on his thrusters, making him fly about twenty percent faster.

It doesn’t sound like much but in this case, a couple of minutes could mean everything.

About halfway there, the hero catches a glint out of the corner of his eye. He uses his magnifier to zoom in on the growing flickering light and what he sees shocks him completely.

The damn kid is fighting the Vulture guy on top of his supposed invisible plane.

And this vehicle is losing air fast.

“FRIDAY, how far away is that?” Tony asks as he changes direction, praying that he sounds calmer than he is.

“Three and a half miles, sir.”

_ Too far. _

The AI then says, “Incoming call from Happy Hogan -”

“Put him through,” the billionaire says, cutting her off. He then hears the panicked voice of his bodyguard.

“Boss,  _ Tony, _ uh, Tony, something’s wrong, I think the plane’s about to crash, I see  _ something _ about to crash -”

“I know, I’m on it. Just stay where you are and get another plane to take everything else. Don’t let anyone in that you don’t already know, understand?”

“Yeah-yeah - wait, how do you know? What do you mean ‘you’re on it’?”

“FRIDAY’s gonna give you the coordinates, call the police, ambulance, fire truck, the works.” Tony then says with a fearful sigh, “Hap, the kid’s on the plane.”

_ “What?! _ You’re kidding me, right -”

“I fucking wish. Look, I’m on my way now, just do what I said.”

“Yeah-yeah, but be careful.”

_ I’m not the one he should be saying that to. _

Tony ends the call just as the flickering vehicle is out of his sight, and with the newfound aches and pains that followed, it gives him the assumption that the plane has inevitably crashed.

“Shit, shit, shit, shit, FRIDAY, make this go faster.”

The AI increases speed by another ten percent. He wishes it could go faster but then the suit would overheat and he’d never get to the kid in time.

_ Putting that upgrade on my to-do list. _

The aches lead to stings and pierces the closer he gets to the crash site, and with every hit to the head, gut, and chest, Tony’s panic only progresses.

_ Holy shit, was it this bad with the kid when I was in Siberia? _

The man slows down once he reaches the beach, taking in the sight before him: the plane is in smithereens, debris is  _ everywhere, _ most of it is on fire.

And the guy with wings is using his “bird feet” to slam a maskless Spider-Man against the sand.

_ Who does this to a fucking kid? _

Tony immediately holds up his arm, blasting the Vulture with his repulsor and humming in satisfaction at seeing the bastard soar backwards onto the hard sand.

The hero rushes to the kid, retracting his faceplate, “Peter, it’s me, I gotcha.” He grimaces at the amount of coughing coming out of him and gently turns the teen on his side, giving him a second to get ahold of his bearings, “You’ve had one  _ hell _ of a night, underoos.”

“M’ser -” Peter cuts himself off with another round of coughing, spitting out some sand that he must’ve swallowed in the midst of the crash.

_ Or the fucking wings guy. _

“I gotcha,” Tony repeats, lightly patting his protege’s back as he kneels fully onto the shore, “You’re okay.”

_ You’re most definitely  _ not _ okay but what the fuck am I supposed to say? _

“M’ser,” the boy starts, taking a few deep breaths before his mentor feels him stiffen under his touch, “Look out!”

“Wha -” Tony grunts as he feels an unexpected force crash into his chest, landing him on his back and staring up at the smoke-filled dark sky.

A grunt is then heard next to him and his head snaps to the side.

The fucking Vulture guy is getting up, his wings taking him through the sky not even a second later.

The next thing he sees is the spiderling, fearful brown eyes boring into his own. 

Peter pushed Tony out of the way.

_ How'd he know that dude was coming? _

“His wingsuit’s on fire,” the teenager says suddenly, looking up at the sky.

“What?” Tony asks, begrudgingly sitting up.

_ Okay, nothing makes sense anymore. _

“The Vulture,” Peter states, “His wingsuit’s on fire, it’s gonna literally explode - what the fuck is he doing?” 

Iron Man follows the kid’s gaze as he stands up, his helmet covering his face once again. He sees the villain pursuing a box from the shipment that somehow survived the wreckage.

Again, Tony holds up his repulsor and fires a blast but his hand is knocked to the side by the teenage vigilante, making him miss his target completely.

“Kid, what the fuck -”

“You’ll kill him, are you crazy?!” 

“Isn’t that the  _ goal _ -” the billionaire cuts himself off at seeing that whatever he says next will fall on deaf ears.

The boy shoots his web at the wingsuit, digging his heels into the sand and putting all of his weight into keeping the older man on the ground.

Tony just simply stares in awe.

This guy just damn near beat the crap out of this kid, and here Peter is, trying to save his sorry ass.

_ I - somebody get me out of this dream. _

He is then snapped out of his thoughts by the bastard himself, “Time to reap what you sow, Iron Man.” Toomes uses his “bird feet” to pick up the box but as he’s flying, more sparks appear, producing an electrical fire and the man falls completely back to shore, with Peter trying and failing to catch him with his web fluid.

“No!” Peter cries, racing to the Vulture while side-stepping around the surrounding fire.

Tony chases after him, “Peter, you’re literally running through fire in  _ pajamas.” _

But the boy doesn’t hear him. Instead, he wraps one of the Vulture’s arms around his neck and pulls the unconscious villain out of harm’s way.

The older genius retracts his helmet as he pulls the burning wingsuit off of the other man, holding him down while Peter webs him like a caterpillar’s cocoon. The Vulture is just coming to when they hear sirens in the distance.

“Perfect timing,” Tony says, turning to his protege,  _ “You _ are coming with me, mister.”

“Mr. Stark, I’m fine -”

“Like  _ hell _ you’re fine, don’t give me that shit. Where’s your mask, you don’t want anyone else seeing you.”

“Uh,” Peter takes a brief look around but the debris is blocking, well, everything, “I don’t know.”

“Okay, that’s okay,” his mentor says absentmindedly. He picks up the Vulture and takes advantage of the sticky webbing by slamming him into one of the surviving shipping containers, a bit too forcefully probably, but eh, this is a slap on the wrist compared to what he deserves.

Tony then holds out his hand toward his mentee, “C’mon, kid, let’s get outta here.”

“Huh?” Peter asks, looking at the gesture confusingly.

“I’m taking you to medbay,” the man states, his helmet closing around his face as he prepares for takeoff, “C’mon, before anyone sees you.”

“Uh, do I just like grab onto you or -” 

“For God’s sakes,” the older man cuts him off with a grunt, grabbing onto the hoodie part of the kid’s suit and soaring upward. 

_ “Holy shit!” _ Peter cries, scrambling to climb up his hero’s armor in order to get a good grip on him, “Are you  _ trying _ to make me piss myself, ‘cuz it almost worked.” He wraps his arms and legs around Iron Man’s torso, using his stickiness to keep him in place. He then moves his head to look at all of the scenery below them but quickly tucks it back under the other’s neck, “Oh my God, this is  _ so _ much higher up than I normally go.”

Tony responds with a heartfelt chuckle, letting go of the hoodie and now cradling the vigilante’s head, “So you could sense the ‘wings dude’ but not me, noted.” He glances at the kid, seeing him with his eyes squeezed shut and lips pursed together blossoms an unexpected warmth in the billionaire’s chest.

_ Is this a soulmate thing? Oh, it better  _ not _ be a fucking soulmate thing. _

“You’re not going anywhere, you’re gonna be just fine, okay?” the older genius says, his voice unconsciously softening, “Keep your head down,” he concludes, pressing the kid’s head more into his neck.

“Mr. Stark, I might actually piss myself.”

“You do that and we’ll  _ never _ be friends.”

“We’re literally soulmates, though.”

“Don’t fucking remind me.”

-

They get back in one  _ dry _ piece, thankfully, and after a quick bathroom break, Peter is dragged to medbay, much to his dismay.

As Tony suspected, the boy’s wounds have already started to heal but that doesn’t mean they don’t need help either. Soon, Peter is clad in a hospital gown with the now tattered suit piled absently on the floor. His burns are treated, along with some butterfly bandages to help the healing process of who knows how many cuts and scrapes he endured.

“You know you’re wasting your time on this, right?” Peter says as he lays on a hospital bed, pointing to the bandages on both his face and arms, “Most of these will literally be healed within the hour.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” Tony counters from the chair next to him, sighing tiredly and raking his fingers through his hair, “How’re you feeling?” he asks solemnly, looking up at the patient.

Peter casually shrugs, “Kinda tired but fine -”

“Be serious, I know what I felt. Well, I don’t, actually, but whatever it is, it certainly doesn’t warrant an ‘I’m fine.’”

The young hero looks up, his eyes bugging out as fear creeps in, “Oh shit, I forgot about that -”

“Really?” Tony rebuts disbelievingly, “After all that shit in Siberia, you  _ forgot?” _

“I didn’t forget exactly, I just kinda…forgot that it went both ways, I guess.” The kid’s eyes shift from his mentor to his blanket-covered legs, as if he’s watching a tennis match.

“Spit it out, I know you wanna ask.”

“I really don’t, to be honest, ” Peter says, his voice growing quiet. He then tightens his grip on his blanket and asks with a defeated sigh, “What did you feel?”

“Everything.”

“Everything?”

_ “Everything, _ but I don’t know what it is I exactly felt.” Tony raises his eyebrows at the patient, “Care to explain?”

To Tony’s shock, the boy’s hands start to tremble while he hastily shakes his head, “N-N-No, you, you, uh, you don’t wanna know, um, yeah, you don’t wanna know.”

“You’re right, I don’t wanna know, but I  _ have _ to know, Peter. What happened back there?”

His protege tightens his grip on his blanket to the point where his fingers are puncturing through the fabric. He starts having to take loud but uneasy breaths in what Tony assumes is to keep from crying, “Please don’t,” Peter forces out, “It-It-It really sucked, please don’t.”

“Peter -”

“Don’t!” Despite all the effort, tears start flowing down the teen’s face and he quickly wipes them away, “I just, I just don’t wanna,” he pauses to swallow a lump in his throat, “I don’t wanna talk about it, okay? Please stop.”

_ Oh, shit. _

“Peter, breathe,” Tony says gently, using his left hand to grab onto one of the kid’s shaking ones, “It’s over now, you’re okay -”

“Stop! Just stop,” the child shouts defeatedly, his light sobs forming an echo throughout the hospital room.

Tony is simply baffled, having no idea what to do in this situation. What the hell happened, and how bad was it that it causes the poor kid to delve into the beginnings of a panic attack?

His free hand starts to fidget as the man’s own anxiety starts to set in, finding himself repeatedly clenching his fist to keep himself grounded. He mindlessly glimpses at the young hero’s name and a hypothetical lightbulb goes off above his head.

The billionaire stands up, giving his mentee’s hand another reassuring squeeze before he lightly pushes Peter’s hospital gown off of his right shoulder and rests his palm against  _ Anthony Stark. _

Both heroes sigh in relief as the welcoming warmth filters through them, with Peter leaning back into the bed, his breaths becoming fewer and farther between which the mechanic hopes that means he’s calming down.

_ Damn…I forgot how good this feels. _

Tony keeps their names pressed together until long after the kid is under control, that same warmth never faltering. 

The billionaire then starts to pull away, but Peter’s right hand snaps to his mentor’s, keeping it in place. Tony says soothingly, “It’s alright, I’m not going anywhere.”

The kid’s hand loosens, soon dropping completely. The older man swings his foot around a leg of his chair and drags it towards him before sitting in it, adjusting as best as he can without moving his hand from his soulmate’s shoulder.

An awkward silence suddenly fills the room, with the two of them not knowing what to say next, Tony especially.

He desperately wants to know what happened. The genius was on the fucking  _ floor _ for God’s sakes, that’s not something they can just let slide.

Especially not with how the kid reacted to the mere question of it.

He was trapped under something. Maybe he’s still in shock from everything, the mechanic thinks.

Peter then asks, snapping his hero out of his stupor, “How long do you think this warm thing lasts?”

The billionaire casually shrugs, “Only one way to find out.”

“I hope it’s forever,” the boy replies peacefully, relaxing fully into his bed and facing his mentor, “This is nice.”

“Yeah, it is.” A half-smile escapes the man as he starts rubbing the other’s shoulder with his thumb.

The repeated question is on the tip of his tongue.

_ What the fuck happened? _

But he keeps his mouth shut, figuring that maybe it’d be better to ask after everything is settled and the kid is no longer in a hospital bed.

“I’m sorry we’re soulmates,” Peter says in a hushed tone, almost restating what he said the last time he was in a hospital with the man himself in one beside him.

“What?” Tony raises an eyebrow, “Like it was your fault -”

“No, I know it’s not but I know you didn’t want a soulmate and this is all such a  _ clusterfuck, _ I just…I’m sorry.”

The man grimaces as guilt filters through him, briefly squeezing the kid’s shoulder, “You’re right, I didn’t want one, but that has nothing to do with you. I never wanted one, even before we found out about this…connection, I thought all this is just a waste of time. But y’know what?”

“What?” Peter asks, reluctantly looking up at his mentor.

“I’m glad this happened.” The older genius gestures to the two of them with his free hand, a smile barely escaping him, “‘Cuz if I couldn’t sense what happened tonight…things might would be a lot worse.”

The boy nods his head gravely, with Tony tightening his grip on him at feeling a shudder beneath his hand. The billionaire sees the other hero biting his lip, one hand in a clenched fist and another wrapped around his thigh.

_ He wants to say something. _

Tony adjusts his position with his right arm, propping his elbow onto the bed while keeping that respective hand in place. He lightly nudges the boy as he says, treading carefully, “Nothing leaves this room.”

About a full minute goes by in silence, the warmth of their soulmate connection is the only thing keeping them grounded.

Ironically, the only thing that makes any damn sense.

However, this welcome heat never dwindles. Unlike a long shower, they don’t run out of “hot water.”

If only they could store this in a jar.

“You said you felt everything, right?” Peter asks softly, a slight tremor in his voice.

Tony’s tone unconsciously matches the kid’s, “Yeah?”

“What, um,” the teenager’s gaze goes right to his lap, staring at his writhing fingers as if it’s the most interesting thing in the world, “What exactly is  _ everything?” _

“Well,” Tony starts, sighing in despair, “That plane crash must not’ve felt too good.”

Peter snorts, to the man’s light surprise, “It didn’t. Wh-Wha…what else?” he asks, tensing up once more.

_ He’s dreading something. _

The billionaire continues, “Uh, well, I think I’m gonna have to go to a chiropractor sometime soon.”

Again, the boy snorts, chancing a brief glance at his mentor, “Why?”

“Pete, what happened back there?” Tony asks, “What happened that made me fall and not get back up?”

Peter’s head snaps to his mentor’s, his brown eyes expanding as if he’s a cat, “What?!” he squeaks, starting to tremble once more, so the older man uses his free hand to rub his upper arm in comfort, “Uh,” the boy goes on, “How? Like…like  _ how?” _

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Tony answers with a grunt, “You were trapped under something, weren’t you?” he then asks, voice softening. 

The teenager looks away, rubbing his eyes in what the mechanic hopes isn’t unshed tears, but one escapes anyway, and it takes everything in Tony not to wipe the drop away. Peter then, ever so slightly, nods his head, “Yeah, uh, I-I-I, I was stuck, and-and I hated it. I’m, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know you could feel it too -”

“Hey, hey,” the scientist cuts him off, squeezing his shoulder so the kid doesn’t get worked up, “Remember what I said about apologizing for shit that’s outta your control? I’m not mad at you, I’m just worried, kiddo.” After a moment’s hesitation, he asks, “Did it hurt?”

The child nods his head a second time, more tears slipping down his cheeks and he’s given up on hiding it, “It su-it sucked so bad.” He then looks back up at his hero, “Oh my God, it hurt for you too.”

Tony quietly shushes him, still rubbing his protege’s bicep, “It’s alright. I was hoping since you’re enhanced, it wouldn’t’ve affected you as bad.”

“I wish,” Peter responds with a grunt, “Maybe I need a chiropractor too.”

The man releases a slight chuckle, “Nothing brings soulmates together quite like getting our backs cracked, huh?”

“Yeah,” the kid says with a snicker. A ghost of a smile escapes him but it falls as fast as it came, “A building fell on top of me,” he then says in a rush, instantly stiffening under the older man’s grip, “That’s why I was stuck.”

Everything in Tony stills.

“What?” he asks lowly, praying that his ears are playing tricks on him.

Because he did not hear what he just heard.

Peter covers his mouth to hold back a sob but his mentor hears it, regardless. Tony resumes his comforting movements in the hopes to soothe the boy but it doesn’t seem to be working.

“I had to, um…” the teen starts, wrapping his arms around his torso, “I had to go to him. I couldn’t just let him get away while I was at the stupid dance, y’know?”

_ What the fuck are you talking about? _

The young hero goes on, “So I, uh, I left my phone in his car -”

“You were in Vulture’s car?”

“Oh, yeah, he was my date’s dad, he drove us to the school. Just my luck, huh?”

“I’ll say. Sorry you had such a bad night, underoos.”

“It’s one hell of a conversation starter, anyway. So uh, yeah, my OG suit was under the lockers so I grabbed it and left the dance.”

_ I’m just gonna pretend that I know what “OG” means. _

“Ned tracked my phone,” Peter continues, “And it led me to like his ‘lair’ or-or something. The Vulture had this bird thing break all the posts in that warehouse and, um,” his voice goes significantly quiet, “Yeah…all that happened.”

“Holy shit,” Tony mutters, his voice matching the kid’s, using all of his energy to keep his anger in check.

_ I knew I should’ve killed him. _

A sudden rush of guilt flows through the billionaire as he says, “I’m sorry.”

Peter looks up at him, eyebrows narrowed in confusion, “For what?”

“If I hadn’t taken your suit, you would’ve been better-equipped…that wouldn’t’ve happened.”

“But you didn’t know this would happen. Shit,  _ I _ didn’t know this would happen and I’m the one with spidey sense.”

_ So  _ that’s _ what he calls it. _

The spiderling continues, “Yeah, I was pissed when you took my suit but I screwed up, I know that -”

“But you don’t deserve to get crushed by a whole-ass  _ building, _ Peter. I was too stupid to know you wouldn’t listen to a damn thing I’d say and you’d go gallivanting in your pajamas anyway.”

“They’re  _ not _ pajamas -”

_ “Whatever.” _ Tony light-heartedly rolls his eyes, “The point is, you should’ve been out there in the suit I gave you, the one that’s  _ safer, _ and has an AI who can contact me whenever you need me.”

“But you came anyway,” Peter retorts, cheeks reddening to a light shade of pink, “Thank you for that.” He then surprises his hero completely by giving him a hug, prompting Tony to separate their names and awkwardly return the embrace.

_ Who knew this kid was a hugger? _

_ Well, he was stuck under a building. _

_ Among other things that will  _ definitely _ be talked about later. _

The billionaire can’t help but smile as he relaxes more into their grip, barely noticing the chill from when he took his hand off of the boy’s shoulder, “I’m glad I was there…I’m glad I felt it.”

And he meant what he said. He doesn’t deserve this forgiveness, the mechanic thinks, this kid literally put himself out there with no real means of protecting himself when he should’ve had his suit, his  _ actual _ suit. If Peter wasn’t enhanced…

Tony doesn’t dare think about finishing that sentence. 

“Me too,” Peter confirms, the tears finally drying on his face, “This thing’s starting to come in kinda handy, huh?”

“Yeah,” the man says with a snort, “Yeah, little bit. By the way,” he releases his hold on the kid, folding his arms atop the hospital bed, “I wanna make you some ‘super-painkillers.’”

“Why?”

“‘Cuz they’re the only thing that can help this shared pain thing we got going on. For average people, painkillers can lessen it, but since you’re you, they might not work as well. You up for some testing sometime?”

Peter nods his head in confirmation, “Thanks. Um, what happens now?”

“How you feeling? And be honest.”

The boy answers, releasing a sigh, “I was honest the first time,  _ thankyouverymuch, _ I’m still fine. Look,” he holds out his arms in front of his mentor, “Everything’s already healing like I said -”

“So you’re ‘fine’ despite crying and being on the edge of a panic attack earlier?” Tony asks, not unkindly, but not soft either, hoping the tone will snap this kid back to reality.

That being fine physically has nothing to do with being fine mentally or emotionally.

Tony knows that all too well.

Peter looks away from the other’s gaze, slightly curling into himself as his cheeks flush in embarrassment, “I’m sorry -”

“No, kid, just stop for a second, okay?” The man takes a moment to get his thoughts together before he continues,  _ “You _ need to stop acting so ‘macho’ all the time.”

“What -”

“Lemme finish: look, I get it, you wanna be all macho and tough with the Avengers, I get it, we were pretty badass.” To the billionaire’s relief, that elicits a snort out of the boy, “But that doesn’t make you any less of a human being either.” He then takes a deep breath, biting his lip before he forces out, “After Siberia, I wasn’t feeling too hot either.”

“Really?” Peter asks, his red-rimmed eyes widening with hope, “I mean, it sounded like it was scary…felt like it too.”

“Yeah, it’s, uh, it’s a lot but I’m dealing with it. Comes with the territory of doing what we do, y’know?”

“Yeah,” the teen agrees, his voice growing softer, “Okay, maybe I’m not like,  _ all the way _ fine. When do I  _ get _ fine?”

Tony responds with a grunt, “If I knew the answer to that, I’d be a trillionaire.” He then says, changing the subject, “Just rest here for a bit, okay? After everything, you need a breather, regardless of that healing thing you got.”

_ “Fine,” _ Peter states with a groan, “Do I still gotta be in the hospital bed?”

“‘Fraid so, they still wanna look at your vitals.”

The boy leans his head back against the bed as another groan escapes him, “Mr. Stark?” he then says, looking down at his hospital gown, “I don’t have any other clothes.”

“We got sweats. Just lay here, take a nap, watch porn, ponder life, what have ya -”

_ “Watch porn, _ what the fuck?” Peter sits back up, looking at his mentor in utter confusion.

“You really think I wasn’t gonna find out?” Tony asks, smiling cheekily, “You think Happy would’ve kept that a secret?”

“Kept  _ what _ a secret? Man, I must be really tired ‘cuz I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about. I don’t watch porn.”

Tony scoffs, “You’re fourteen -”

_ “Fifteen -” _

“Oh,  _ pardon me.” _ The man rolls his eyes, “But, kid, enough with the cover-up, Happy showed me the movie you rented while you were in Germany.”

“Mr. Stark, I barely even remember what movie I rented. I just clicked on it when the soulmate pain thingy started so I couldn’t exactly focus.”

Tony’s eyes soften at that, filling him with another streak of guilt, “Kid, the movie was with the other room service charges, we could see the  _ adult film _ you rented.”

Peter’s eyes bug out as wide as they can go, “It  _ was _ porn?”

“Don’t play dumb with me -”

“I’m not, I swear,” the teenager declares, curling into himself again as humiliation sets in, “I-I-I didn’t know it was porn -”

“I was fifteen once too, I get it, I’m just messing with ya -”

“No, Mr. Stark,” Peter pauses to take a frustrated breath, “I really didn’t know it was that. I saw the title and synopsis and thought it was just gonna be a lame rom-com I could laugh at.”

“Pete,” the mechanic can’t help but start laughing, “Why’re you making such a big deal outta this, it’s fine -”

“I’m  _ asexual, _ okay?” The spiderling gives the older man a defeated look, “So I really,  _ really _ didn’t know I clicked on porn. Now there’s two reasons why I’m glad the pain thing happened.”

_ D’aw, I’m the other reason.  _

“Oh,” Tony says as a fuzzy feeling forms in his chest, eyebrows raised in light surprise, “Alright,  _ fine, _ I’ll take your word for it,” he concludes with a smile.

“Wait, that’s it?”

“What’s it?”

“I just told you I’m asexual and you’re just  _ cool _ with it?”

Tony’s eyes squint in confusion, “Why wouldn’t I be cool with it?”

“I-I-I -” Peter cuts himself off with an exasperated sigh, “And you know what it is?”

“Why wouldn’t I know what it is?”

_ “Mr. Stark,” _ unexpectedly, the teen starts laughing himself, “You’re literally killing me here.”

The billionaire joins in, lightly patting his soulmate on the back, “Relax, kid, thanks for telling me. Alright,” he gently uses his hand to grip the other’s forehead, “Head goes  _ there,” _ he then lightly pushes him back onto the bed and Peter lets him, too tired to argue, “And I’ll go see about getting you some clothes.”

Tony is just starting to get up when a hand quickly grasps his wrist.

“Please stay,” the boy mumbles, his voice suddenly sounding like he’s younger than fifteen. 

The man sees the fear in this kid’s eyes, the way he's curled into a ball, wrapping the blanket around himself like a cocoon.

Well, a literal  _ building _ fell on him tonight, so this fear is more than justified.

The older genius settles back into his chair, giving his protege a smile as he rubs his shoulder, “Sure thing.”

“Thanks,” Peter says, letting go of the man’s grip and tucking it under the blanket, “What about May -”

“Don’t worry about that, I got a cover story. Just go to sleep.”

After a few minutes, the spider-boy finally does, his light snores echoing through the room makes the other hero quietly chuckle as he leans back in his chair.

_ Talk about one hell of a night. _

_ Maybe this soulmate thing isn’t as bad as I thought. _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I'm also on tumblr @baloobird


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